Hypotensive peptides from soy proteins and method of preparation

Abstract

A method for preparing an anti-hypertension peptide composition, using a microbe which is intrinsic to common soybean food and capable of producing protease. The composition mainly contain peptides with a molecular weight of less than 10 kD which are produced by decomposition of soy proteins by the microbe in a fermentation process. The composition is shown to have an ACE inhibitory activity and an effect of lowering blood pressure when administered to a mammalian subject.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This application claims benefit from U.S. Provisional Application No. 61 / 078,344, filed on Jul. 4, 2008, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]This invention relates to a peptide and a pharmaceutical composition for treating patients suffering from a high blood pressure. Particularly, it relates to a peptide obtained from soybean proteins by a process of fermentation.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Hypertension is one of the risk factors for strokes, heart attacks, and heart failure, and is a leading cause of chronic renal failure. Even moderate elevation of arterial blood pressure leads to shortened life expectancy. At severely high pressures, defined as mean arterial pressures 50% or more above average, a person can expect to live no more than a few years unless appropriately treated. The angiotensin I—converting enzyme (ACE) is physiologically important in the regulation of...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0011]These and other objects have been realized by the present invention by providing a method which relies on the bacterial species which are intrinsic to the common soybean food to isolate suitable microbes and to carry out fermentation using the isolated benign microbes. It is surprisingly found that peptides having exceptionally high ACE inhibitory activity can be obtained by fermentation of soybean protein with Bacillus species commonly find in the soybean food. The released soy peptides by such fermentation are then partially purified by centrifugation and ultrafiltration, and conveniently administered to people for their beneficial effect on blood pressure. Furthermore, using the processes developed by this invention, novel peptides with unique chemistry and showing beneficial health effect on blood pressure can be identified and can be synthesized and suitable for large-scale production.

Problems solved by technology

Hypertension is one of the risk factors for strokes, heart attacks, and heart failure, and is a leading cause of chronic renal failure.

Even moderate elevation of arterial blood pressure leads to shortened life expectancy.

Inhibition of ACE reduces the activity of angiotensin-II but increases bradykinin levels, and thus result in lowering of blood pressure [2].

While such pharmaceutical products are effective in decreasing elevated blood pressure, some of them often have side effects associated with their use.

However, there remains a number of challenges for a fermentation process to be utilized to produce more effective and safer peptide products for treating hypertension: 1) selection of unique microbial strains for efficient production of peptides, 2) optimum control of the fermentation and downstream processes for peptide production and purification, 3) identification of the effective peptide chemistry, and 4) use of the peptides for treating hypertension.

Images